No, Ohiopyle is in Pennsylvania
No, Ohiopyle is in Pennsylvania
View Ohiopyle State Park in a larger map
"Ohiopyle is like our second home," she said. This weekend I flew home to join my mom and her husband for a whitewater adventure in Ohiopyle State Park, an hour and a half south of Pittsburgh. I was surprised by how familiar she and show more...
her husband Ross are with everyone here. They know everyone from the owner of the campground to the waitstaff at Falls Market. My mom can identify boaters from the shore just from the sight of their gear. There's a lot to do in this beautiful little corner of the country: kayaking, canoeing, fishing, hiking, biking, camping and the natural water slides. They come here often, but this time they're here for one reason only: to run the falls on the Youghiogheny River.There were a lot of boaters this weekend. Over 300 whitewater boaters descended on Southwestern Pennsylvania this weekend for Over the Falls Fest. The 20-foot waterfall at Ohiopyle is regulated by the state and is only open to boaters one day a year. This weekend anyone who registers and pays a $30 fee can run the falls. Local groups including American Whitewater and the Three Rivers Paddling Club are working to free the falls for year-round boating.Not as seasoned boater myself, I took up my position on the sidelines and readied the video camera to capture the carnage. One boater runs the rapids in an inflatable "duckie" that he paddles from a standing position. His paddle is extra long so he can reach the water from higher up. There is a smaller rapid at the top of the waterfall that flows into the main. Boaters who wipe out there run the risk of tumbling over the 20-foot drop upside down. Some do, and end up out of their boats at the bottom. That's called "swimming". Listening to my mom and her friends, I realized that boater culture has its own vocabulary. It can be humorous and very whimsical at times. Here is a sample of the boater lingo I picked up this weekend:
Attain - To gain distance upstream by paddling against the current
Boof - The sound a kayak or canoe makes when landing from a large dropBow - The front end of a canoe or kayak
Boof stroke - The last stroke one takes before plunging over a large dropCheese grater - A dangerous rock lying invisible just below the water's surfaceDry bag - A waterproof sack used to store, among other things, lunch
Danger eddy - a patch of calm water in the middle of a dangerous rapid
Eddy - a patch of calm water on a river Line - The route taken by a boater through a rapid. "Follow my line."Maw - The churning water at the bottom of a waterfall or rapid. The backward motion of the water in the maw can draw a boater back into dangerRoll - an emergency maneuver executed by skilled kayakers to return to an upright position after being flipped over
Spray Skirt - Part of a kayakers gear; it creates a seal around the cockpit of the boat
Stern - The back end of a canoe or kayakSurf - To stay in a rapid and paddle, "playing" in the whitewater Swim - To fall out of one's boat Undercut - Invisible to all but the seasoned boater, a rock with a hollow under it through which water flows and under which a boater can become trapped if he is swimming
Rapids and natural features also have clever and sometimes silly names. Here are a few of them:Bruner's Run
CucumberDouble Hydraulic Killer Falls - A tiny rapid at river's end that, according to tradition, must be run backwards to appease the river gods and bring good karma to your tripSquiggley WigglySwimmer's Rapid - where it's safe to get out of the boat and enjoy the waterVulture Rock - Where we put out and took our lunch and watched groups of tourist rafters dumped out of their boats against Dimple Rock
After the boater's in my mom's company had successfully (or not so successfully) run the falls we put on the river for our day of boating. I don't have any photos from the river unfortunately because my camera isn't waterproof! I survived with only a few bumps and bruises and some sore arms and shoulders. My mom the pro said I did much better this year, only toppling out of my boat a couple of times, and always steadying myself and my gear before danger struck. I even surfed a bit at "Swimmer's".
At the close of the day we headed back to our campsite for smores, snacks, beer and good company. We stayed up late laughing by the fireside. When we woke up Sunday we decided to take it slow. We took our time getting moving. We packed up our gear and within minutes our campsite looked deserted.
Sunday was chillier and overcast, so we opted out of a second day on the river. Instead, we drove down the road a bit to the site of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece Fallingwater. At the beginning of the tour, everyone stopped listening to the guide and stared down along the path. A small stray kitten had wandered onto the road and was basking in the sunlight there. We headed inside. My photos are only of the exterior as I was not allowed to take shots inside the house. Take my advice and see this amazing landmark (and abomination of engineering) yourself if you get the chance. Wright's vision of form over function is all over this place in the uncomfortable furniture and nonfunctional spherical kettle above the hearth. Horizontal lines dominate and give this place a modern look, even for 1934. There ar priceless works of art in the guest bedrooms including Audubon prints and a Picasso. There is a guest house above the main house and a swimming pool fed by a natural spring. Amazing!
After the tour we headed home. It was the perfect conclusion to a tiring but enjoyable weekend.Enjoy my photos in the slide show below.
show less...
Attain - To gain distance upstream by paddling against the current
Boof - The sound a kayak or canoe makes when landing from a large dropBow - The front end of a canoe or kayak
Boof stroke - The last stroke one takes before plunging over a large dropCheese grater - A dangerous rock lying invisible just below the water's surfaceDry bag - A waterproof sack used to store, among other things, lunch
Danger eddy - a patch of calm water in the middle of a dangerous rapid
Eddy - a patch of calm water on a river Line - The route taken by a boater through a rapid. "Follow my line."Maw - The churning water at the bottom of a waterfall or rapid. The backward motion of the water in the maw can draw a boater back into dangerRoll - an emergency maneuver executed by skilled kayakers to return to an upright position after being flipped over
Spray Skirt - Part of a kayakers gear; it creates a seal around the cockpit of the boat
Stern - The back end of a canoe or kayakSurf - To stay in a rapid and paddle, "playing" in the whitewater Swim - To fall out of one's boat Undercut - Invisible to all but the seasoned boater, a rock with a hollow under it through which water flows and under which a boater can become trapped if he is swimming
Rapids and natural features also have clever and sometimes silly names. Here are a few of them:Bruner's Run
CucumberDouble Hydraulic Killer Falls - A tiny rapid at river's end that, according to tradition, must be run backwards to appease the river gods and bring good karma to your tripSquiggley WigglySwimmer's Rapid - where it's safe to get out of the boat and enjoy the waterVulture Rock - Where we put out and took our lunch and watched groups of tourist rafters dumped out of their boats against Dimple Rock
After the boater's in my mom's company had successfully (or not so successfully) run the falls we put on the river for our day of boating. I don't have any photos from the river unfortunately because my camera isn't waterproof! I survived with only a few bumps and bruises and some sore arms and shoulders. My mom the pro said I did much better this year, only toppling out of my boat a couple of times, and always steadying myself and my gear before danger struck. I even surfed a bit at "Swimmer's".
At the close of the day we headed back to our campsite for smores, snacks, beer and good company. We stayed up late laughing by the fireside. When we woke up Sunday we decided to take it slow. We took our time getting moving. We packed up our gear and within minutes our campsite looked deserted.
Sunday was chillier and overcast, so we opted out of a second day on the river. Instead, we drove down the road a bit to the site of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece Fallingwater. At the beginning of the tour, everyone stopped listening to the guide and stared down along the path. A small stray kitten had wandered onto the road and was basking in the sunlight there. We headed inside. My photos are only of the exterior as I was not allowed to take shots inside the house. Take my advice and see this amazing landmark (and abomination of engineering) yourself if you get the chance. Wright's vision of form over function is all over this place in the uncomfortable furniture and nonfunctional spherical kettle above the hearth. Horizontal lines dominate and give this place a modern look, even for 1934. There ar priceless works of art in the guest bedrooms including Audubon prints and a Picasso. There is a guest house above the main house and a swimming pool fed by a natural spring. Amazing!
After the tour we headed home. It was the perfect conclusion to a tiring but enjoyable weekend.Enjoy my photos in the slide show below.
show less...
Tags:
travel: domestic
